Pippin 2013 Revival Review!

When I first viewed Pippin with Ben Vereen in the DVD of the 1982 Toronto production, I had one giant problem with it that was keeping from absolutely loving this musical; it was dated. Weather it was the hair, the music, or the overall staging, the cobwebs somehow kept me from completely appreciating this wonderful musical.

And then came this revival, and it did just that. I can describe it in just 2 words: circus spectacle. It is easy to have a big Broadway musical that is spectacular in the fact that it shows off how huge the budget is, but here, the spectacle is important, it is part of the story, and it makes the story more recognizable, more modern, and even more powerful. Watching it now and all of the things it does made me feel not just like a 4 year old chewing cotton candy with my jaw open at all the fancy, difficult tricks they were doing without nets and closing my eyes whenever I thought a trick was going to be too dangerous and I was about to watch someone die right before me-which they never do (because they are professionals), but as an adult facing the question of how to spend my adulthood. Yes, you will be amazed, but you will think too.

Most of the cast (except perhaps a couple characters), are trained circus performers and dancers. The choreography mimics the original production and uses the classic Fosse style (supposedly they looked at his original notes!), but this is definitely the most extremely physical show I have seen, and the cast, especially the ensemble, pulls it off perfectly. It is a visual wonder, they perform on aerial swings, they jump through hula hoops, and they bend their bodies in ways you did not know bodies could bend. Most of the numbers have an individual identity; it has its own color, its own tricks and complex choreography and staging. Never once was I bored watching it onstage. As for the sets look, it was incredibly simple (a circus tent as the walls and your average circus stuff), and only had to change the lights or add a few set pieces from the fly space or wings to tell us we were someplace else. For example, there was green lighting and  green bouncy balls to make Bethe’s house and there was also yellow lighting and wooden animal stalls to make Catherine’s farm. The costumes were also useful in communicating character while staying true to the circus and spectacle themes.

The performances were a mixed bag. The strongest were, of course, from the Leading Player, played by Carly Hughes and Berthe played by Priscilla Lopez. Both had strong character development , wonderful singing (and dancing for Hughes part), and were a joy to watch as long as they were onstage. The understudy for Fastrada, Lara Seibert Young was on that night, but she nailed the simple character of Fastrada. She looked like she was having fun, which in turn made it fun to watch her. Plus her phenomenal dancing was a huge advantage to her performance as well. John Dossett as Pippins father, King Charlemagne, was not impressive in singing or acting, but he was able to keep in character and be believable, but too believable to the point where the character of “enormous power” seemed weak. Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine was annoying at first, but her humor and unique take on the character- emphasis placed on her normality and plainness as opposed to the greatness Pippin craves throughout the plot- grew on me, especially her comic timing. Sadly, the weakest link was the central character; Josh Kaufman, the winner of last years “Voice” as Pippin. Despite his naturally good singing voice, he made Pippin more spoiled than sympathetic and gave him no interesting qualities outside of that.

There were new orchestrations, cuts and additions that did a great justice to the show. I will not spoil it for those of you who want to see it without knowing, but let me say this one thing. In the original show, there were a few lines and little scenes that either could be taken uncomfortably or glued the show to its period. Cutting them (except for one line, my favorite from the original “Some men raise flags when they can’t get anything else up!”) except for a few of the more necessary “discomfort” lines and scenes trimmed the show to what it needed. The extra scenes reminded me something about this show; it is hilarious. Pippin has a wonderful, smart, and sometimes bawdy (but not to the point of gross) sense of humor. The best addition was the ending. You can guess at what it is if you listened to the revival soundtrack, but it never the less adds a new dimension and closing thought to the story that in addition to the circus element makes it all the more powerful. It is one of the best endings in Musical Theatre history.

With all of these amazing circus tricks, with all of the people singing while hula hooping or being held upside down from an aerial swing, it is not pulling a Weber. It is not spectacle for the sake of spectacle. The circus represents the “incredible” destiny Pippin seeks. Even when he is faced with the realities of a more  mundane life, there is not a break from the circus tricks because that is him trying to  change  reality to meet his own standards. However, it gets in the way of him being able to accept the happiness of the mundane. Pippin is a show that questions the idea of there being a grand destiny for each person, if an ordinary life makes a person ordinary, and what someone is willing to do in order to be considered great. Whether you are an adult facing your mid-life crisis, a high school student about to enter college and form your adulthood, or a college student questioning whether your major is what you want to do for the rest of your life, than there is something in this show, that  will strike a chord with you. And the chord has never been struck in a way like this.

So overall, Pippin is an exceptional revival. The cobwebs have been swept from it and trimmed and fitted to fit this new, different generation. The simple yet creative sets and costumes clearly communicate character and setting. The main cast may not be at their zenith, but they all perform physically impressive feats. The brilliant circus staging not only makes it look dazzling, but it also makes the main themes and messages of the show all the more relevant. If you missed the production, then by all means, see the National tour when it comes the closest it can to your town. They have magic to do, it is not a false parlor trick- the magic, indeed, is genuine magic.